I think Queen Noor's statement is misleading. Thats the first time I've heard of something like that. Its more likely that what she mentioned in her book had something to do with palace/court tradition.
Iftars are a time for everyone, men, women, and children, to get together and break their fast. Thats the whole point, being together with one's family, neighbours and community.
That is why iftar parties are held. So everyone can share together in the spirit of Ramadan.

Pet0780 4 0398 King Abdullah II Receives Fernando Conte Amman, Oct. 17 (Petra)--His Majesty King Abdullah II on Monday received the visiting Head of One World aviation coalition, the executive Chairman of Spanish aviation firm Iberia Fernando Conte, on the occasion of the Royal Jordanian (RJ) accession to One World. The King's advisor Aqel Beltaji, who attended the meeting, expressed appreciation on this step which is expected to promote RJ on the world level and contribute to improving its services to passengers. RJ is the first Arab and Middle East aviation firm to be chosen to the membership of one of the major world aviation coalitions, Star Sky, Sky Team and One World. Majali expressed pride on joining this coalition which will prove to be an essential step to the RJ, under the light of severe competition air aviation is witnessing around the world. Jordan's accessing to the coalition will improve RJ's financial position and develop passenger movement on its fleet . On his part, Conte said that choosing RJ came following implementation of accession conditions , such as auditing according to international standards and services , among others offered by the coalition members. He pointed out that RJ will instantly start linking its information systems, and training its cadres on means of passenger services, in addition to completing all required demands for accession as a full member of the coalition, which is expected to be at the middle of next year. Petra 171911 Local OCT 2005

Well, there are a number of parts of QN's book which are misleading--as much as I like her...... Having said that, it is interesting to read your post. Does "iftar" translate to something, i.e., special celebration? I am so sorry for my ignorance on this topic as many of you are so well versed in understanding the traditions. I went back and re-read the portion of QN's book relating to the iftar and it specifically relates to iftars held at the palace with QN and KH. She states that previously, only men were invited to the palace for iftars and she decided one year to include women. Palace officials objected to this, saying the women she was including should be home preparing the meal with their families and not at the Palace. She states she held firm until KH intervened and asked her specifically to cease and desist from inviting women and that's when the outcry occured---and women were again invited to iftars held at the Palace. If I am reading the news about Queen Rania correctly, she is going out into the community and participating in iftars held at various homes or with various organizations. Would this be correct? A few more questions, if someone would be so kind as to answer. Is it correct that one fasts all day--except if one is pregnant or ill--and then an iftar occurs with family/friends after sunset? QN wrote that KH was only able to smoke during the iftars; he could not do so apparently during the day. Does that make sense? She talked a lot about various juices; does the fast include cessation of beverages, including water? Are special prayers held before or after the meal? So many questions but this is a very interesting subject to me. Thanks in advance for any answers you could provide.:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~*~Humera~*~

I think Queen Noor's statement is misleading. Thats the first time I've heard of something like that. Its more likely that what she mentioned in her book had something to do with palace/court tradition.
Iftars are a time for everyone, men, women, and children, to get together and break their fast. Thats the whole point, being together with one's family, neighbours and community.
That is why iftar parties are held. So everyone can share together in the spirit of Ramadan.

Well, there are a number of parts of QN's book which are misleading--as much as I like her...... Having said that, it is interesting to read your post. Does "iftar" translate to something, i.e., special celebration? I am so sorry for my ignorance on this topic as many of you are so well versed in understanding the traditions. I went back and re-read the portion of QN's book relating to the iftar and it specifically relates to iftars held at the palace with QN and KH. She states that previously, only men were invited to the palace for iftars and she decided one year to include women. Palace officials objected to this, saying the women she was including should be home preparing the meal with their families and not at the Palace. She states she held firm until KH intervened and asked her specifically to cease and desist from inviting women and that's when the outcry occured---and women were again invited to iftars held at the Palace. If I am reading the news about Queen Rania correctly, she is going out into the community and participating in iftars held at various homes or with various organizations. Would this be correct? A few more questions, if someone would be so kind as to answer. Is it correct that one fasts all day--except if one is pregnant or ill--and then an iftar occurs with family/friends after sunset? QN wrote that KH was only able to smoke during the iftars; he could not do so apparently during the day. Does that make sense? She talked a lot about various juices; does the fast include cessation of beverages, including water? Are special prayers held before or after the meal? So many questions but this is a very interesting subject to me. Thanks in advance for any answers you could provide.:)

No dont apologize. I've noticed this often about Queen Noor. As much as I like her she does not seem to have a talent for clarity and concision.
What you've described makes sense and thats what I suspected. Obviously Queen Noor was referring to palace tradition, it has no religious bearing. It was odd for me to read something like that because I grew up with men, women, children, from my family and outside of it, getting together for iftars.
Queen Rania and King Abdullah, over the years, have held iftars for dignitaries, orphans, the poor etc. And obviously the tradition continues this year too. I was infact told by one of our members that this year the king and queen have decided not to hold all the iftar banquets for dignitaries and diplomats and have instead decided to use the money to provide food for the poor.
I think thats why this year we see Queen Rania breaking her fast only with orphans and widows etc.
The fast lasts from sunrise to sunset (except ofcourse for those people who are exempt from fasting, pregnant women, the sick, travellers etc) During this time we dont eat or drink anything (that includes water). And yes there are special prayers, called "taraweh prayers" which are held at night:http://islam.about.com/cs/ramadan/a/taraweeh.htm

King Visits GAM
Amman/Oct.18(Petra)-- His Majesty King Abdullah II on Tuesday stressed on the importance of Great Amman Municipality (GAM) projects that should cope with the future construction expansion and economic activity the Kingdome will see in the coming years. http://www.petra.gov.jo/nepras/2005/Oct/18/28303700.htm

Thank you, La La and Humera; this helps immeasurably. I have seen photos of Queen Rania with orphans and women at several iftars this year and donating the money to the poor so they can have food is a very honorable, thoughtful thing to do!

__________________
And there does not come a moment when I do not look into the sky or indeed at anything beautiful and am not reminded of him whom I loved most in life and find a joy in the knowledge that .....he is finally reunited with Her whom I loved most

Pet0428 4 0088 King, Queen to Visit the Netherlands Next Month Amman, Oct. 17 (Petra)--At the invitation of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix, Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah will pay a state visit to the Netherlands from November 29- December 1. The three-day visit comes within the frame of strengthening cooperation between Jordan and the Netherlands in all fields. //Petra// 171409 Local OCT 2005 http://www.petra.gov.jo/nepras/2005/Oct/17/28264700.htm

MORE than 100 new small and medium enterprises worth BD22 million have been created under the Bahrain Model of Enterprise Development, over the past three years, it was revealed yesterday.

The projects have been developed by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido), through its Arab Regional Centre for Entrepreneurship & Investment Training (Arceit) with the support of the Bahrain government...............

A similar scheme is being created in Jordan, at the request of Queen Rania during her visit to Bahrain. A training-the-trainers programme has been organised in Jordan, in co-operation with the King Abdullah Fund for Development."

AER LINGUS: Royal Jordanian to join oneworld alliance
/noticias.info/ Royal Jordanian is to join oneworld, the leading quality global airline alliance.

It is the first carrier from the Levant, Middle East and Gulf region to be elected on board any of the global airline groupings - and the first airline accepted to join oneworld for more than five years.

It accepted its invitation to join at a ceremony today conducted in the presence of His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein at the Royal Palace in Amman, the airline's home base.

This is what I was mentioning before about the Jordanian court not holding iftar banquets for diplomats etc. Thank you to barbara for providing the article.

The link no longer works so I hope the mods wont mind my posting it in its entirety.

Jordan to feed, house the needy during Ramadan

AMMAN (AFP) - Thousands of impoverished Jordanian families reeling from recent price hikes are expected to receive precious royal assistance, including roofs over their heads, during the holy fasting Muslim month of Ramadan.

The royal court has announced a series of measures to alleviate the financial burden faced by many Jordanians since an unpopular decision last month to raise oil prices for the second time in months.

Breaking with tradition, this year the court will not organise its daily lavish iftar meals to break the dawn-to-dusk fast which it usually holds for officials, diplomats, the media, tribal leaders and other figures.

Instead the money spent on these huge events will be handed out to feed the poor.

So-called "welfare convoys" will criss-cross the country to distribute enough food supplies to sustain a family for a period of six months starting with Ramadan, the palace said in a statement.

The assistance will cover 21,000 families across Jordan, which began marking Ramadan on Tuesday.

An additional 61,000 families, considered to live under the threshold of poverty, will also receive food aid or a one-time 50-dinar (70 dollars) cash payment from the national aid fund, officials said.

The government and the court also plan to hold iftar meals for the poor in nationwide as well as launch plans to house the needy, officials said.

"During the month of Ramadan 600 housing units will be given by the king to needy families in the northern and southern governorates," acourt official told AFP.

"This is part of a bigger scheme to give land to all low-income families, not just the poor," the official said.

King Abdullah II ordered houses to be given to the poor specifically during Ramadan in a show of solidarity due to the tough economic conditions, the official added.

According to official figures, 14 percent of Jordan's 5.4 million inhabitants are poor, but unofficial estimates puts their number at 31 percent.

In September the government increased fuel prices by five to 22 percent, for the second time since July when prices went up by 10 to 33 percent, to shore up a budget deficit exacerbated by rising world oil prices.

The price increases have covered everything from petrol to diesel, kerosene and domestic gas cylinders and are part of a government plan to press ahead with lifting oil subsidies completely over the next two years.

Giving alms to the poor is one of the five precepts of Islam and it takes on a special meaning during Ramadan, a month of selflessness and spirituality.

"10,000 families need urgent assistance," Minister of Social Development Abdullah Oweidat said recently adding that his ministry will organise the aid drive in cooperation with the private sector and charity organisations.

Meanwhile Jordanians have complained that greedy merchants have raised the prices of many staple goods ahead of Ramadan.

"Shopkeepers know that people spend and buy more food during Ramadan, so they went ahead and increased their prices, knowing that no matter what, people will buy," said Samir Ali.

"I wish the government would crack down on the shops," said Ali, a family man employed in a private company.

A supermarket clerk said business was brisk and that despite the latest price increases people were buying a usual for the iftar meals.

"There are habits that you just can't break," she said.

During Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex during the daylight hours, before evening meals and visits to friends and family.

Thank you for clarifying that point as I was about to post and ask more about it. QN states "Hussein was the most relieved when it was time for our iftar and would immediately light up his cigarette." If the point of Ramadan is to try to give up bad habits, then this would be something I would think he would attempt to avoid--at least for the month, as you state. Does this mean he did not regard smoking as a bad habit? He clearly was addicted to smoking throughout the majority of his life--and resumed even after cancer surgeries 1 and 2, according to QN's book. If those weren't "wake up calls," what does it take?????

When King Abdullah or any muslim is traveling--but let me focus on KA as he is a leader and might be in a western country and have to attend a banquet or luncheon during the day, does he have to avoid it? I would suspect his advance team might try to work through these issues prior to the visit but was curious if "travelers" being exempt applied. It's a tricky "line" to walk if one were at a luncheon meeting and had to refuse to eat or drink anything served.

I guess the good news is KA, unlike his father, doesn't have the cigarette issue to contend with. I have never seen a photo of him smoking nor have I read of him doing so.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Little_star

"QN wrote that KH was only able to smoke during the iftars; he could not do so apparently during the day.2

I think it's a shame that King Hussein smoked at all during Ramadan. One of the points of the month is that people are supposed to try and give up thier bad habits and vices.

Meanwhile Jordanians have complained that greedy merchants have raised the prices of many staple goods ahead of Ramadan.

"Shopkeepers know that people spend and buy more food during Ramadan, so they went ahead and increased their prices, knowing that no matter what, people will buy," said Samir Ali.

"I wish the government would crack down on the shops," said Ali, a family man employed in a private company.

A supermarket clerk said business was brisk and that despite the latest price increases people were buying a usual for the iftar meals.

"There are habits that you just can't break," she said.

I find this very unfortunate that the shopkeepers are taking advantage of the holiday and fellow muslims by raising prices in this manner. But I suppose it's the same as Christmas holidays when prices of presents are high, then immediately marked down on December 26th.

maryshawn, about KA travelling during Ramadan. I would assume that officials take care of the details, ie. when he can attend banquets and so on. The exemption for travellers is for those undertaking a journey of a specific distance and are not required to fast during this time. But a lot of people prefer to keep up their fasts even if they technically dont have to. KA most likely chooses to fast even during his travels. When he was on the recent visit to malaysia, indonesia, and pakistan (all muslim countries) he attended iftars with his hosts and also prayed with them.